On Monday BJP leader alleged that Former leader Nitin Raut is using chatered flights for personal use to Bombay High Court.He used to travel through chatered flights to travel till Nagpur. Leader Raut also said during Covid-19 pandemic we were using flights only for official assignment and not for another personal work.
BJP leader Vishwas Pathak has alleged Nitin Raut for using chatered flights for personal use and has misused the power of being in the position of minister. A Public Interest litigation (PIL) was filed in this case.
BJP leader also said that Raut had pressurized the Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB) and other units and also administrative control so they they can bear expenses of the chatered flights.
The PIL has been filed stating that illegally the money was spent on the chatered flights also it should recover the money the amount been spent.
The PIL also stated that chatered flight was used in 12 different occasions for approximately Rs 3 crore and the benchof Justices Dipankanr Datta and Justice Madhav Jamdar who were hearing on this case on Monday.
While hearing this case Congress MLA has denied the allegations and said that chatered flights were not used for personal works.
An affidavit has been filed in this case and Congress MLA said “ I deny that the expenditure incurred for the chatered flights was illegal, arbitrary and gross waste of public funds.
Raut said being the guardian minister of Nagpur at the time, he had to travel to the district in eastern Maharashtra routinely for administrative work. “On the relevant occasions, I had travelled to Nagpur for administrative work which included overseeing of day-to-day functions of the power companies and to resolve issues brought about by the lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the Nisarga cyclone (which hit coastal Maharashtra in June 2020). This was to ensure uninterrupted supply of electricity,” the affidavit said.
Former Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Monday accused the Congress of not taking steps to procure modern equipment for defense forces during the UPA governments despite India being surrounded by two hostile neighbors and said China had gone ahead of India in terms of weaponry and “it is the fault of Congress”.
Amarinder Singh formally joined the BJP at the party headquarters here. Punjab Lok Congress, headed by him, also merged with the BJP.
Amarinder Singh said it is time to join a party that is looking after the interests of the country. He said during the tenures of AK Antony as defense minister in UPA governments “not even a one type of weapon was ever purchased for Army, Navy or Airforce”.
“We are hemmed in by two hostile nations China and Pakistan and we (Punjab) are the ones suffering. It is our duty to protect our state and country. Unfortunately, China is way ahead of us in weaponry and it is the fault of Congress. I am not saying this because I am no longer part of Congress but I don’t think that in the four terms that AK Anthony was there, not even a one type of weapon was ever purchased for Army, Navy or Airforce. Now weaponry is coming which is necessary for us if we are to secure our nation”.
Antony was Union Defence Minister for the most part of the two Congress-led UPA governments from 2004 to 2014. Amarinder Singh also referred to efforts by Pakistan to create trouble in Punjab.
“Punjab is a border state, and I have seen our relations with Pakistan deteriorating…Drones are coming into our territory now to create complete chaos in Punjab. China is also not far from us. It’s our duty to protect our state and the country,” he said.
Amarinder Singh BJP was looking after the interests of the country. “Now is the time that we should think about what we should do for our country and for ourselves… we have seen with Congress for so many years and now is the time that we should go to a party that looks after the interest of the country and that is BJP,” he said.
Answering a query on his wife Preneet Kaur being a Congress MP, Amarinder Singh quipped it is not necessary that he remains in the party in which his wife is a member.
Amarinder Singh served Congress for long years and resigned as Chief Minister in September last year ahead of assembly polls. He later also resigned from the Congress and formed Punjab Lok Congress which tied up with BJP and SAD (Sanyukt) for the assembly polls held early this year.
Amarinder Singh’s joining the BJP is a big shot in the arm for the party in the border state. The BJP now has a credible Sikh face in Punjab who has been active in state politics for several decades.
West Bengal Assembly passed a resolution against the ‘excesses of the central investigation agencies’ on Monday.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee hit out at the Centre for the “misuse” of the Central Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement Directorate against the Opposition leaders, but stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi “has not done this”.
She blamed the Union Home Ministry, which comes under Amit Shah, for the businessmen “leaving the country and running away”.
Addressing a debate in the Assembly, the Chief Minister said, “Businessmen are leaving the country and running away. They are running away because of fear and misuse of ED and CBI…I believe Modi hasn’t done this. Many of you don’t know that the CBI doesn’t report to the PMO anymore. It reports to the Home Ministry.
Some BJP leaders are conspiring and they go to Nizam Palace often”. The resolution was passed with 189 votes while 64 MLAs opposed the move.
The move by the West Bengal government comes amid the ongoing probe by the ED against Banerjee’s nephew, Abhishek Banerjee who is also a party leader and an MP, in connection with the coal scam in the state.
Mamata further said that the BJP will be ousted from power at the Centre after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. “You (BJP) will go in 2024. Those who are flying like gas balloons, they will understand,” she said.
She also slammed the Centre for not conducting raids on the leaders who were in Opposition earlier but had joined the BJP.
“Without informing the State government, they are sending the agencies at 3 am. If there are raids on those who are wearing saffron, huge money will be recovered from them,” she said.
“How many raids have been conducted at the residences of the leaders who went to your party?” Banerjee added.
She further dared the BJP to prove “even one allegation” of misappropriation of funds against her family.
On Monday sub divisional police officer (SDPO) and the constable has been booked in Maharashtra by the police in Jalna district for impersonating in an LLB written exam.
The kadim Jalna police station official said ‘The exam was held at Bhakt College between February 4 and 8, 2020 in which constable Somnath Mandlik appeared in place of SDPO Sudhir Khiradkar in an LLB exam”.
A social activist Reema Kharat submitted a complaint against Khiradkar and Mandlik at the Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University (BAMU) also committee was found stating constable Mandlik has appeared for the exam after which the complaint was filed.
The case has been registered against two accused in this case for cheating and fraud under Indian Penal Code provisions and the investigation in this matter is underway and as of now inspector MA Sayyed is investigating in this case.
Bombay High Court, Elgar Parishad Case | Image: PTI
The Bombay High Court on Monday rejected the bail plea filed by Delhi University’s associate professor Hany Babu, an accused in the 2017 Elgar Parishad case, noting prima facie allegations against him were true and that he was an active and prominent member of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist).
A division bench of Justices N M Jamdar and N R Borkar said the appeal filed by 54-year-old Babu, arrested in July 2020 in the Elgar Parishad-Maoist links case, against the special court order refusing him bail was dismissed.
“….we find that there are reasonable grounds for believing that the accusations against the Appellant are prima facie true,” the judgment said.
“The documents submitted by the NIA and the facts unearthed during the investigation, based on which we must proceed at this stage, show that the Appellant (Babu) is an active and prominent member of the CPI (Maoist) Party,” the court said.
The bench noted Babu was not just a passive, but an active member of this outfit.
The court, while referring to communication between the accused persons, refers to comrades proposing to take concrete steps to end the ‘Modi Raj’. It is stated that ‘we’ are thinking along the lines of another ‘Rajiv Gandhi-type incident’, and targeting ‘his’ road shows could be an effective strategy.
“We find that there are reasonable grounds for believing that the accusations of the NIA against the Appellant having conspired, attempted, advocated and abetted the commission of a terrorist act/s and the act/s of preparatory to the commission of a terrorist act, are prima facie true,” the court said.
It added the CPI (Maoist) party was designated as a terrorist organisation and was working to establish a people’s government through violent means in an armed struggle. It wants to undermine and seize power from the State, the court said.
“The Appellant, along with other accused, are working for different mass organisations to further the activities of the CPI (Maoist) Party. The CPI (Maoist) Party has chalked out a detailed strategy for the furtherance of its role to overthrow the lawful Government, and the same strategy and tactics are adopted by the accused and the Appellant,” the order said.
The objective of this outfit was to overthrow the Government by the use of weapons and to mobilise armed unrest.
“Pursuant to the larger conspiracy to seize power from the State, the members of the police and armed forces have been made targets and killed, and also the conspiracy refers to elimination of constitutional functionaries. The Appellant is not merely a sympathiser with this organisation,” the bench said.
The HC added that the 2017 Elgar Parishad conclave in Pune was used to establish underground contact with the banned CPI (Maoist) through its activists working in Delhi, including Babu.
“The appellant was fully entrenched in the activities of the CPI (Maoist) Party, a banned organisation, and the Revolutionary Democratic Front (RDF), also a banned organisation,” the bench said.
The court also refused to accept Babu’s contention that no terrorist act was committed in the present case.
“There is sufficient material against the Appellant at this stage of being involved in the core activities of the terrorist organisation,” it said.
Babu gained expertise in the activities of the terrorist organisation, and the correspondence between the other accused showed that he was a trustworthy member of the terrorist organisation who can be entrusted with important tasks, the HC said.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA), conducting a probe into the case, has accused Babu of being a co-conspirator in propagating Maoist activities and ideology on the instructions of leaders of the banned CPI (Maoist) organisation.
Hany Babu was arrested on July 28, 2020, in the case and is currently lodged at the Taloja prison in neighbouring Navi Mumbai.
He approached the HC in June this year, challenging an order of the special NIA court here, which rejected his bail plea earlier this year. Babu, in his plea, said the special court had “erred” in holding that there existed prima facie incriminating material against him.
In his petition filed through advocates Yug Chaudhary and Payoshi Roy, Babu said while the NIA had cited a letter speaking of a conspiracy to kill Prime Minister Narendra Modi as evidence in the case, the alleged letter did not incriminate him.
There existed no evidence to even suggest that he intended to or supported activities to cause disaffection against India, the plea said.
The NIA had opposed the bail plea, arguing that Babu actively participated in activities to promote Naxalism and wanted to overthrow the government.
Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Anil Singh, appearing for the NIA, had claimed Babu was a member of the banned outfit CPI (Maoist) and the prosecution seized material from his laptop to show he was in constant contact with other accused in the case.
Babu wanted to promote and expand Naxalism and was a part of the conspiracy to wage a war against India by overthrowing the elected government, Singh said. He along with others wanted to set up “Janata Sarkar” ie people’s government by armed struggle, Singh had told the court.
ASG Singh had also argued that Babu used to train other members of the proscribed outfit on how to avoid phone tapping.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday interacted with fishermen at Vadackal beach in Kerala’s Alappuzha and discussed the challenges faced by them ahead of starting the 12th day of his party’s Bharat Jodo Yatra.
The Wayanad MP held discussions about the rising fuel costs, reduced subsidies, dwindling fish stock, inadequate educational opportunities and environmental destruction among other issues.
“At 6 am, Rahul Gandhi interacted with fisherfolk at Vadackal beach in Alappuzha on their challenges–rising fuel costs, reduced subsidies, dwindling fish stock, lack of social welfare & pensions, inadequate educational opportunities, and environmental destruction,” Congress leader Jairam Ramesh informed in a tweet.
The Yatra is in its Kerala leg and would traverse through the state for the next 12 days.
The 3,500-km march from Kanyakumari to Kashmir will be completed in 150 days and cover as many as 12 states. From Kerala, the Yatra will traverse through the state for the next 18 days, reaching Karnataka on September 30. It will be in Karnataka for 21 days before moving north. The Padyatra (march) will cover a distance of 25 km every day.
Meanwhile, the Yatra was mired in controversy after a video surfaced of local Congress leaders allegedly extorting donations from a vegetable vendor in Kollam, Kerala. A vegetable shopkeeper was allegedly threatened by Congress workers in Kollam for not contributing Rs 2,000 towards the collection of funds for the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
Rahul Gandhi said that the spirit of the Bharat Jodo Yatra is to bring Indians together irrespective of religion, community and remind them that this is one country and it will be successful if we stand together and are respectful towards each other. The Congress suffered a debacle in the assembly polls held earlier this year and the Yatra is seen as an attempt to rally the party rank and file for the upcoming electoral battles.
Sparked huge protests on campus over the past couple of days, while the protests have died down and the university has announced closure for two days, many students from nearby cities have left for home.
Students have alleged that a girl student shot as many as 60 private videos of her hostel mates and forwarded them to her boyfriend in Shimla. They also alleged that some videos were uploaded on social media and porn websites.
Police have, however, denied this. They have said that the girl had shot videos of her and shared them with her boyfriend. Police have found no other video of any other girl, and said rumour-mongering had led to panic and protests by the students.
The girl, her boyfriend and another boy said to be her former boyfriend have been arrested.
Another student said there is no consistency in the police statements, “If she forwarded only her video, why is she in the lock-up? Their statements don’t make sense. We want classes to resume, we want everything to be normal, but at the same time, we don’t want confusion.”
Another student protester slammed the hostel warden, who has now been suspended for allegedly misbehaving with the girl students.
“Where is that accused warden who said the problem is in your clothes and not in the videos? She said it is because of your clothes that boys make lewd videos. It is because of that warden that girl students are not comfortable sharing anything with the university authorities.”
Senior police officer Navneet Singh Virk said police found only four videos in the girl’s phone of herself. “She sent them to her boyfriend, nothing else. Her phone has been sent for forensic examination. Also, there was no attempt to suicide.”
Yesterday, several social media posts claimed that several girls attempted to die by suicide after their videos were leaked. Police, however, said some girls fainted during the protests.
Arvinder Singh Kang, director for students’ welfare at the university, said, “We registered an FIR so that students are satisfied. Have you found any MMS on social media? It is not there because it does not exist. There has been no death, no suicide attempt. It is a matter of investigation how such rumours spread.”
Avatar, Sam Worthington, James Cameron | Image : Twitter/@officialavatar
Actor Sam Worthington says he was sceptical about surrendering to director James Cameron’s vision of “Avatar”, which would rely heavily on the motion capture technology to create characters in the 2009 epic sci-fi film.
In “Avatar”, Worthington starred as Jake Sully, a paraplegic US Marine who is transported to the fictional moon of Pandora on a unique mission but becomes torn between following his orders and protecting the world he feels is his home.
Besides being a social commentary on the environment, the film also introduced cinephiles to unforgettable visuals through special effects.
It also starred Zoe Saldana, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang and Michelle Rodriguez. Cameron had described the motion capture technology as “the next level of makeup”, recalled Worthington. “Jim (Cameron) always made us that promise that even though you’re going to be big and blue, it’s you.
It’s the technology and the performance captures. He described it once to me as it’s the next level of makeup. And I was always a bit worried that the subtlety that you could act wouldn’t really translate,” the 46-year-old actor said during a virtual press conference.
Hollywood star Kate Winslet was admitted to the hospital after she suffered an accident while filming the historical drama “Lee” in Croatia.
A representative for the Oscar winner said she is doing well and plans to resume filming this week.
“Kate slipped and was taken to hospital as a precautionary measure required by the production. She is fine and will be filming, as planned, this week,” read the statement shared to entertainment website ‘Deadline’.
In the upcoming feature film, Winslet plays Lee Miller, the Vogue cover model-turned-photographer who was a leading figure in chronicling World War II for the iconic magazine.
Miller brought the world’s attention to the atrocities committed in the Nazi concentration camps through her photographs.
Ellen Kuras, who served as the cinematographer on “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” also starring Winslet, is directing the film. “Lee” also stars Marion Cotillard, Jude Law, Andrea Riseborough and Josh O’Conner.
